ABSTRACT
Penetrating spinal injuries with foreign bodies are exceedingly rare. To date, pathological problems due to glass fragments in the spinal canal have rarely been reported. In this report, the case presenting with a back laceration, leg pain, and leg weakness was found to have glass frag-ments in the spinal canal at the L2-L3 level by lumbar computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. After L2 total laminectomy and retrieval of the glass fragments, the dura was re-paired. The patient was discharged from the hospital after complete neurological recovery. In cases of spinal canal injuries due to foreign bodies, early operative decompression of the neural elements is the treatment of choice. Patients with Cauda Equina syndrome due to glass fragments have a good prognosis for functional recovery.
Subject(s)
Foreign-Body Migration/diagnosis , Polyradiculopathy/diagnosis , Spinal Injuries/diagnosis , Adult , Decompression, Surgical , Female , Foreign-Body Migration/diagnostic imaging , Foreign-Body Migration/surgery , Humans , Laminectomy , Lumbar Vertebrae , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Polyradiculopathy/diagnostic imaging , Polyradiculopathy/surgery , Spinal Injuries/diagnostic imaging , Spinal Injuries/surgery , Tomography, X-Ray ComputedABSTRACT
Paragangliomas uncommonly occur in the cauda equina region. This type of tumour may be misdiagnosed pre-operatively as a neurinoma or an ependymoma. Paragangliomas are highly vascular tumours. We report three patients with paraganglioma of the cauda equina. The first patient had many dilated vessels resembling an arteriovenous malformation, which were seen during surgery. The second patient had a post-operative haemorrhage without any residual tumour. The third patient had a selective angiogram with dense tumour staining.
